When we moved to our first home, I decided we needed a cute little fuzz ball to fill it. I wanted to hear the pitter patter of kitten feet and I would learn much over the next couple of years about adopting kittens vs. adopting cats.
Titus had been featured on the local television station as a rescue kitten from an abandoned trailer in the rural part of our community. I fell in love with him because he was cute, fuzzy, slept the entire time I held him and was just plain adorable. I wish I had watched him, held him, and played with him when he was awake because I may have found out earlier that he was a holy terror.
As everyone notices, kittens are cute, energetic, fluffy and widely available. People choose kittens more often based on looks than personality. Kittens may ease into your household routine a bit easier than an adult cat set in its ways, but be prepared for the turbulent stages that come with any baby. Kittens love to scratch on just about everything-including human skin. They climb anything and everything, sleep in strange (sometimes inconvenient) places, try to play with the other animals you may have, and get into everything. If you consider getting a kitten, be sure to spend time with it while it is awake.
Titus ran the house. The dog would leave the room when he walked in. He would sit in the sink and meow incessantly when he wanted a drink of water. He would talk on the phone with my grandmother in the U.K. and run from people who came to visit. He clawed and scratched when we played with him (I still have scars to this day). Overall, he didn't like to be held, stroked, or interacted with. We tried making him an indoor cat, but the lure of the birds outside our home's windows was too much. He scratched up the carpet near the bedroom door where we kept him at night, scratched at windows, threw himself against the glass trying to get out. So Titus became an outdoor cat and he would promptly show up at the back door in the morning and evening for his food. He might come in and lounge a while, but then he was off on his midnight work schedule patrolling the neighborhood for rodents. He would sleep on the step or the deck in the sun during the day, greet us on occasion when coming home, come with us around the neighborhood when we took the dog for a walk. He was an independent fellow and preferred to look after himself.
One day Titus disappeared. He was three years old. We live in a semi-rural area, so it is my guess that a fox got him as several cats disappeared from the neighborhood that week and a family of foxes had been spotted nearby. I believe now that even though he was incredibly young when he was rescued (about four weeks old), that he still suffered some trust issues with humans.
I was at the pet store a few months later buying dog food when I saw the rescue cats being housed in the store's cat area. There was a lovely black and white cat that was two years old. I watched her from the register and continued on my way. A week later, I was back for more things and the cat was still there, this time with a representative from the rescue organization.
She said that Dee was a sweet girl and had many admirers, even pointing to the abundance of things strangers had bought for her to go with her to her new home. The problem was that she was two years old. "Everyone wants a kitten," the lady said.
I decided to get to know Dee. She was indeed a sweet girl. With an adult cat, there are very few surprises. She had been fostered for awhile by another family and got along well with big dogs and she had a distinct lovebug personality. Her adoption fee was 75% less than a kitten's. She would fit in well with our growing family, especially considering our lab had just turned a year old a few months before and really missed his cat Titus.
Knowing these facts about Dee sold me on adopting her. With a kitten, you have an unknown quantity. With an adult cat, they have established personalities so you can determine if they will be a good fit with your family.
Dee is an indoor cat and had been her entire life. She has her claws, but she doesn't use them. She loves to cuddle with any warm body including the dogs and she lays on my arm as I type. She will even lure the dogs into the hallway to initiate a chase. Night and day difference between her and Titus.
If it comes to adopting cats in the future, we will certainly not hesitate to look for an older cat, one between the ages of two and five. They are still young enough to adapt to a changing environment, but old enough that you know their quirks before you bring them into your home. Dee is thriving and we can't imagine our lives without her. She had a couple of adapting issues, but they have since been resolved. Titus was full of personality and quirks that didn't reveal themselves until after we had brought him home so we had to roll with the ebb and flow of his personality. Dee, on the other hand, had the exact traits to be a positive part of our family.
Don't make the decision of a kitten over a grown cat lightly. If you like surprises, a kitten may be a good way to go. If you like to know who you are inviting into your house, you may want to go with an older cat. Adoption is for a lifetime. Cats are not commodities that can be returned to the store or shelter because they don't mesh with your family.
Many shelters now participate in the "Feline-ality" matching program where you take a brief survey and they tell you what types of cats you would get along best with. Each cat that is made available for adoption has a personality assessment, so you can look for your feline-ality match! Take your time, enjoy the process, and you, too, will find the best feline addition to your family.